MataMorph 2: A new experimental UAV with twist-morphing wings and camber-morphing tail stabilizers

Schlup, Adam; Bishay, Peter L.; Mclennan, Tommy; Barajas, Cristobal; Talebian, Bianca; Thatcher, Gregory R. J.; Flores, Richard; Perez-Norwood, Justin; Torres, Christian; Kibret, Kebron; Guzman, Edgar

doi:10.2514/6.2021-0584

Cited by 16 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…It is divided into three sections: the fixed section close to the wing root, the twisting section where twist-morphing happens, and the rotation section close to the wing tip. This configuration is similar to the wing configuration of Rodrigue et al [12] and Schlup et al [6] (XM-2). The twist-morphing skin design under study in this work is shown in Figure 1b.…”

Section: Model Descriptionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The spar functions as a torque rod, which is fixed to the last Twistkin in the twisting section and the entire rotating section. The spar is rotated via a rotating mechanism housed in the UAV fuselage, such as the one proposed by Schlup et al [6]. The first Twistkin is attached to the fixed section while the other Twistkins are free to rotate about the spar.…”

Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Planform morphing includes resizing the span and chord lengths and modifying the sweep angle [4]. Out-of-plane morphing includes twisting, change in dihedral angle, camber-morphing, and span-wise bending [5][6][7]. Airfoil morphing includes reshaping the airfoil profile and thickness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Applying twist-morphing to strategic locations on the wingspan may be more desirable than a gradual twist over the entire span length [6,12]. By having the twist-morphing section in the middle of the wing, the rotating section will have a uniform AOA, further increasing the amount of lift generated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When compared with an elevon-equipped wing, the morphing wing showed a reduction in drag. Schlup et al [6] designed an entire UAV, called MataMorph-2 or XM-2, without the use of any discrete control surfaces, relying on twist-morphing wings and camber-morphing horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The span of the wing had three sections, with twist-morphing localized in the middle section.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parametric Study of a Composite Skin for a Twist-Morphing Wing

Bishay

Aguilar

2021

Aerospace

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Although the benefits of morphing wings have been proven in many studies in the last few decades, the wing skin design remains one of the challenges to advancing and implementing the morphing technology. This is due to the conflicting design requirements of high out-of-plane stiffness to withstand aerodynamic loads and low in-plane stiffness to allow morphing with the available actuation forces. Advancements in the design of hybrid and flexible composites might allow for design solutions that feature this balance in stiffness required for this application. These composites offer new design parameters, such as the number of plies, the fiber-orientation angle of each ply in the skin laminate, and the spatial distribution of the plies on the skin surface. This paper presents a parametric study of a composite skin for a twist-morphing wing. The skin is made of periodic laminated composite sections, called “Twistkins”, integrated in an elastomeric outer skin. The twisting deformation is localized in the elastomeric sections between the Twistkins. The design parameters considered are the number of plies in the composite Twistkins, the fiber-orientation angle of the plies, the torsional rigidity of the elastomer, the width ratio, and the number of elastomeric sections. The computational analysis results showed that the torsional compliance can be increased by increasing the width ratio, decreasing the number of elastomeric sections, number of composite plies and the elastomer’s torsional rigidity. However, this would also lead to a decrease in the out-of-plane stiffness. The nonlinearity and rates at which these parameters affect the skin’s behavior are highlighted, including the effect of the fiber-orientation angle of the laminate plies. Hence, the study guides the design process of this twist-morphing skin.

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Section: Model Descriptionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%